THE OTHER DAY, I RAN INTO AN ENTIRE PARAGRAPH WRITTEN IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, THE ENTIRE THING WAS IN BOLD TEXT. AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, “GEEZ, TRYING TO READ THIS IS HURTING BOTH MY EYES AND MY BRAIN. IT’S LIKE THE WRITER IS SHOUTING AT ME, WHICH HURTS MY EARS AND MAKE ME WISH THAT HE WOULD JUST SHUT UP, JUST TO STOP THE PAIN.”
The other day, I ran into an entire paragraph written in all capital letters. To make matters worse, the entire thing was in bold text. And I thought to myself, “Geez, trying to read this is hurting both my eyes and my brain. It’s like the writer is shouting at me, which hurts my ears and makes me wish that he would just shut up, just to stop the pain.”
Which of the two paragraphs above would you rather read? If the latter, then please, please don’t ever write anything that looks like the former. Not in a heading, not in your table of contents, not on the cover of your brief, not even in an e-mail. Not anywhere, ever. Because the last thing you want your readers to think is “Oh, please, just stop.”
If you prefer the former, seek professional help.
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